2022 Study Summary 6: Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord

Genesis 6-11; Moses 8

“Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord”

Genesis 6. The sons of God marry the daughters of men—Men turn to wickedness, the earth is filled with violence, and all flesh is corrupted—The Flood is promised—God establishes His covenant with Noah, who builds an ark to save his family and various living things.

Genesis 7. Noah’s family and various beasts and fowl enter the ark—The Flood comes, and water covers the whole earth—All other life that breathes is destroyed.

Genesis 8. The Flood ceases—Noah sends forth a dove, which returns with an olive leaf—He releases all living things from the ark—He offers sacrifices—Seedtime, harvest, and seasons are ensured.

Genesis 9. Noah and his sons are commanded to multiply and fill the earth—They are given dominion over all forms of life—The death penalty is decreed for murder—God will not again destroy the earth by a flood—Canaan is cursed; Shem and Japheth are blessed.

Genesis 10. The descendants of Noah are Japheth, whose descendants are Gentiles; Ham, whose descendants include the Canaanites; and Shem, of whom came Peleg (in whose days the earth was divided).

Genesis 11. All men speak the same language—They build the Tower of Babel—The Lord confounds their language and scatters them over all the earth—The generations of Shem include Abram, whose wife is Sarai—Abram leaves Ur and settles in Haran.

Moses 8. Methuselah prophesies—Noah and his sons preach the gospel—Great wickedness prevails—The call to repentance is unheeded—God decrees the destruction of all flesh by the Flood.

What is the concept that Jews have of the “Law,” before Moses received it at Mt. Sinai?
There is a law that precedes the “Law of Moses.” “Noachide Laws”, seven laws which were supposed by the rabbis to have been binding on all mankind even before the revelation at Sinai. They are referred to as “Noachide” because of their universality, since the whole human race was supposed to be descended from the three sons of Noah, who alone survived the flood. Exegetically derived from statements made by God to Adam and to Noah, six of them are negative: not to 1) worship idols; 2) blaspheme the name of God; 3) kill; 4) commit adultery; 5) rob; 6) eat flesh that had been cut from a living animal. One is positive: 7) to establish courts of justice. These seven laws are binding on all non-Jews even today. Whoever observes them is considered to be among the “Righteous Gentiles.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

What makes the “perfect storm” in ancient scriptures?
There are several accounts in the Bible that have to do with an ‘ark,’ a ‘ship’ or a ‘boat.’ In each account, those in the crafts were “saved” or “lifted up.” “And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.” (Genesis 7:17) “So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:15-17) “And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” (Matthew 8:23-26) “Wherefore, they knew not whither they should steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible tempest, and we were driven back upon the waters for the space of three days; and they began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose me.” (1 Nephi 18:13) “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land.” (1 Nephi 18:22)

What challenges are there to humanity, that decrease humanness?
“The name of the ‘Tower of Babel,’ the unfinished tower, was called Babel, because God mixed up (Hebrew balal) man’s language. They “babbled.” “According to some modern commentators, the building of the tower was an example of man’s extreme pride in his own ability. The building became such an obsession that, according to the Midrash (Hebrew scripture commentary), when a builder fell off the tower to his death, the other builders paid no attention, but when a brick fell, they would cry: “When shall another come in its place?” According to this interpretation, every generation has its own Tower of Babel, when it begins to idolize its technology. The moral of the story is thus as applicable today as it was thousands of years ago.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

What is the Lord’s name?
The tower people wanted to ‘make a name’ for themselves rather than take the “name of God” upon themselves. In Hebrew, the name of God, “Jehovah” (English spelling), is unmentionable. It means “I AM.” That conjugation is not even used in modern Hebrew. One can say “he is,” or “she is,” but the first-person conjugation is always referred to as “on” or “toward” or “away” from me. At Mount Sinai, Moses asked the Lord’s name: “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus, shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:13-14) To date, there are few spellings of the Lord’s name.

Whose name have I taken upon myself?
A few ‘tetragrammations’ (spellings) of the name Jehovah have been found. Two date to 600 B.C. and were found in the Jerusalem area. One was in a cave, twenty-three miles south and west of Jerusalem in an area called “Lehi.” The inscription, according to the Harvard University Professor, notable for his work in the interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Dr. Frank Moore Cross Jr. (1929-2012), included “I Jehovah, will redeem the cities of Judah and Jerusalem . . .” The other inscription, also dating to 600 B.C. was on a small metal plate, rolled into a “scroll,” that had scripture verses on it. It was a fairly typical “amulet” or necklace worn about the neck. It was found in a stone burial box (ossuary) in the Hinnom Valley by Jerusalem. The verses include the word “Jehovah” but have been translated with the word “Lord” as follows. “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:24-27) As mentioned, this was a scroll-like metal plate that was worn as an ‘amulet’ around someone’s neck so that they could keep the Lord’s name upon them. Nowadays, Jews use “Tfillin” (Phylacteries – Greek for “amulet”), their “Tallith” (prayer shawl or garment) and the door-post/entrance “Mezuzah” to keep the name of God close to them at all times.

What are the 10-most spoken languages in the world, (in millions)?
1. English (1.132) Native: 379, Non-native: 753.
2. Mandarin (1.117) Native: 918, Non-native: 199.
3. Hindi ( 615) Native: 34, Non-native: 274.
4. Spanish ( 534) Native: 460, Non-native: 74.
5. French ( 280) Native: 77, Non-native: 203.
6. Arabic ( 274) Native: 245, Non-native: 29.
7. Bengali ( 265) Native: 228, Non-native: 37.
8. Russian ( 258) Native: 154, Non-native: 104.
9. Portuguese ( 234) Native: 221, Non-native: 13.
10. Indonesian ( 198) Native: 43, Non-native: 155.
(© 2021 Berlitz Corporation)

What is God’s language?
Because Bible (and modern) Hebrew is such a small language, words have varied, even though often related, meanings. The message you and I need to listen for must be defined by the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost. “Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:66) “From latter-day revelation we learn that writing sacred records and the recording of genealogy began with Adam and his immediate family. Adam and the early patriarchs had a perfect language that was both spoken and written. See D&C 107:57; Moses 6:5–6, 45–46; Abr. 1:31. This was an important intellectual ability of the people of God and was given by inspiration. However, among nonbelievers it appears that there was an intellectual retrogression, so that many peoples subsequently have been without the blessings of a highly cultured spoken and written language. There has been a gradual renaissance in literary things, but nothing yet has equaled the pure and undefiled language of Adam. The promise is, however, that perfection in language and writing will return in the future with the full establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth” (Zeph. 3:9; see also Moses 6:5–7) (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/ writing? lang=eng&clang=eng)